Qatar Airways to Brussels via Doha

The routing from London (LHR) to Brussels (BRU)

With this trip report I'm able to write a comparing one of a night and day flight on the same airline as well as 2 different planes. While London - Doha was on the B777-300ER, Doha - Brussels was on the A350-900.

QR16

Boeing 777-300ER A7-BAG (oneworld)

30A Window

London LHR - Doha Hamad Intl DOH

21/01/2020 22:17 - 07:34 | 6h17

When arriving at T4 from my previous flight the transfer itself goes very smooth at Heathrow. Once you enter the terminal after security you can tell a lot of Arab carriers leave from here as the shops are more expensive than the usual ones at airports. My flight was one of the last ones leaving and when I found my gate the crew was still busy with their briefing as the purser was giving a resume of the flight. At the gate there were 2 seating areas, specific for each boarding group. But by the looks of the crowd the flight didn't look very busy. A couple of minutes after he crew boarded the plane the gate staff announced the start of the boarding.

There was no call for business passengers so is could mean they came through another gate area. Tonight's plane that would fly me to Doha was the 777-300ER in the oneworld scheme.

When arriving on board there were a lot of free rows but for weight and balance they've put all passengers in the back together which was easier for the crew's inflight service as well. When I asked the crew to swap seats they said it was ok but after take off only as for weight and balance we couldn't. During boarding or more near the end of the boarding the crew came around with headphones, a menu card, a refreshing towel and amenity kit. I was already impressed with those amenities in economy class as on most carriers you only get earphones and that's it. Furthermore you have a decent pillow and fleece blanket waiting for you on your seat and only a safety and and airsickness bag in the seat pocket, no magazines. When everyone was on board and doors were closed the plane pushed back on time and headed to the runway for a 6hr flight to Doha. as soon as the seatbelt signs went off I changed to an empty row further to the front to have some extra space.

The lights were adapted to a warm color and the crew soon started their inflight service. Again I was amazed as they offer 3 choices of hot meals, metal cutlery and a bottle of water. I opted for the lamb tikka masala which was very tasty , however the bread wasn't great so they better replace it with something like a cold bun as it was hard and dry. After the meal service they passed by again with coffee and tea, I opted for tea which came with a Godiva chocolate which was a nice touch.

After clearing the trays the cabin lights were switched to blue/purple to improve the night rest for everyone. Since I had a whole row to myself I also had some extra blankets and pillows to use to cover the seat belts as it's in the way when you lay down.

Approximately one hour before arrival the cabin light changed to a warm orange color and the crew started with the pre-arrival service. A hot snack (choice of 2) was provided accompanied with a selection of hot and cold drinks. Once they cleared the rubbish, the descent started into Doha the FA came around to ask me and several other pax who have moved seats to take our original seats to restore the weight and balance of the plane for landing. Around 07:30 the plane touched down at Doha's airport which was still ahead of schedule, and as soon as the plane was parked I could disembark and search my departure gate for the flight to Brussels.

The transfer in Doha went very easily, especially when it's no rush hour as it was in my case. When I arrived in the terminal I had to go through security before proceeding to my boarding gate without immigration as I stayed airside. When I found my departure gate for the Brussels flight I was surprised as it was by bus since not all gates were occupied but mainly for the USA flights (with extra security measurements).

QR193

Airbus A350-900 A7-ALO

41K Window

Doha Hamad Intl DOH - Brussels BRU

22/01/2020 09:30 - 13:49 | 6h19

Again on this flight it was boarding by groups and no call for business passengers but only for the groups in economy class. When I boarded the plane it was surprising how spacious and open the cabin is, I boarded through the 2nd door which is right in between the 2 business class sections and where most airliners have galleys QR doesn't have any at all. It's one big open space with a low bar in the middle so you have an overview on the entire cabin when seated on the last row.

My seat for the return flight was originally 35F but with some seat rows blocked near the end of the plane I could move to a window seat once everyone was boarded. On the seat there was a pillow and blanket and this time the headphones were already in the seat pocket together with the safety card and the air sickness bag. The crew distributed the refreshing towels and menu cards once everyone was seated, no amenity kits were given on this flight.

Around 0930 the plane was pushed from the position and on it's way to the departure runway. With a clear blue sky you had a nice view over the airport and Doha city during climbout. A little later the crew started with the inflight service which was a breakfast service on this flight. There were 3 options to choose from and I picked the scrambled eggs with a tea which was as good as on the previous flight. Since I can't have any dairy products the crew was so friendly to replace my yoghurt with an additional fruit cup and skipped the croissant which was pure butter of course.

The tray also had a large bottle of water and metal cutlery. The meal was really tasty, warm and the flavors were just right. After clearing the trays there was another pass around of coffee and tea before they dimmed the cabin lights for the remainder of the flight.

As I had my sleep on the night flight from London I decided to checkout the extensive content of the IFE system. As on the B777, the A350 has the exact same content and system. The menu itself is really easy to use and while watching your movie, serie or listening to music it shows you the remaining flight time when tapping on the screen. Another cool feature was the 3 different cameras you had. You could choose from the tail, nose and downwards view. The general screen displayed the tail camera the whole flight which is something cooler than the usual moving map :-) (bonus points Qatar). Throughout the whole flight the crew passed through the cabin frequently with water or juice and empty drawers to pick up any waste you would have and they were available at all times should you needed something else than the proposed drinks during the pass around.

Soon the crew started with the last service before the arrival into Brussels, as I already had enough meals and snacks I just opted for another last tea before the final descent into Brussels started. The captain announced that despite the delay the flight would still arrive before time.

With an ontime arrival the plane parked at the new gates at Brussels Airport giving the business class passengers the opportunity to disembark separately through the front door.

What I really liked about both flights is the way the crew handles the passengers, when you ask something and they say they come back to you they really do come back to you and believe me on the 1st flight all passengers had different questions for the crew as they weren't seated together or prebooked seats which they didn't get. Their endless patience with the demanding passengers really is an asset and no request is too much for them. Their service level was identical on both flights and they remained professional at all times. I can honestly say that they rightfully deserve to be a 5 star skytrax airline and would definitely vote for them for this year's awards.

Cabin wise you really get a lot of leg space and seat comfort, the pillow and blanket are good enough for a long day or night flight and the seat recline is also really generous in economy class. If I have to come up with a negative point that would be the size of the lavatory on the A350 which isn't as spacious as we're used to on a 777 or A380 but that's the aircraft, not the airline or crew. I would definitely fly Qatar again on longer flights out of Doha in economy class for my future travels if not for the crew it would be for the comfortable seating and movie selection.

#Qatarairways #Aviation #Flying #middleast #skytrax